Apparatus for providing mobility of a figure toy



Sept. 24, 1963 E. F. MACKS 3,104,496

APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING MOBILITY OF A FIGURE TOY Filed May 25. 1958 F 7 IN V EN TOR.

L A/ 452 F950 M406 BY ATTQEA/EY United States Patent 3,104,496 APPARATUS FOR PRQVIDING MGBILETY ()F A FIGURE TOY Elmer Fred Macks, Willow Lane, Vermilion, Ohio Filed May 26, 1953, Ser. No. 737,969 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-116) This invention relates to mobile devices and more particularly to mobile devices wherein movement is produced or made possible by a fluid emitted therefromthrough a foraminous section.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 433,946, filed June 2, 1954, for Method and Apparatus for Providing Mobility, nowabandoned in favor of this disclosure.

It has been discovered that an object may be supported for free, substantially frictionless movement on a thin film of fluid under pressure.

To lift an object for free relative movement, fluid under pressure is provided over a confined area of confrontation defined by complemental surfaces of a slide support and the object to be supported.

This discovery may be utilized by providing a body having a cavity and a foraminous wall defining a base supporting suriace. When the base surface is placed in facial confrontation with a complemental slide support surface, fluid under pressure may be passed through the formanious wall to lift the body. To accomplish this, fluid under pressure is introduced into the cavity. The fluid passes through the foraminous wall over the base surface. A thin film of fluid under pressure is formed between the surfaces.

This film consists of moving fluid which is constantly escaping around the periphery of the area of confrontation and being replenished by a fresh supply of fluid passing through the foraminous wall.

As fluid under pressure is passed through a restriction a pressure drop is experienced. The greater the flow the greater the pressure drop, and conversely the lower the fluid flow the lower the pressure drop.

Thus, when fluid is passed through a foraminous wall having an area of confrontation on one side, a fluid fil-m having a load supporting characteristic will be formed over the area of confrontation. if the ratio is high, the load supporting film will be of high pressure in a properly designed system so as to support the object. The flow of fluid, on the other hand, will be relatively low, and hence the pressure drop will be low. Conversely, if the object is lightthe flow and the pressure drop will be relatively high and the pressure of the film will be relatively low.

If the object is formed symmetrically, the film will be of uniform dimension. The film will, however, generally be of varying thickness and pressure since the weight of the object will not be symmetrically distributed. The heavier side of the object will be relatively close to the slide support and the film will be thin. The fluid flow on the heavier side will thus be low as will the pressure drop, and the film will be of high pressure in this region. Conversely, on the lighter side of the object the film pressure will be lower and the pressure flow and drop relatively high due to the thicker film in this region. Thus even though the confronting surfaces are not precisely parallel, a thin lubricating and supporting film will be maintained. This feature of a properly designed system is known as automatic zone feed-back compensation or simply as load zone compensation.

3,l04,4% Patented Sept. 24, 1963 One'of theprincipal objects of this invention, then, is

to provide a body having a foraminous base wall through which fluid under pressure may be passed to form a lubricating and supporting film, having load zone compensation.

It has also been discovered that an object may be sup ported and lubricated by a film passed through a forarninous floor or other supporting surface. This concept is disclosed in more complete detail in the copending applica tion for patent Serial No. 466,025 filed July 27, 1954 entitled Supporting land'Lubricating Device, nowabancloned in favor of a continuation-in-part application filed February 19, 1958 and bearingSerial Number 716,243 under the title Supporting and Lubricating Device, now abandoned.

While it will be apparent to a mechanic skilled in the art that the principles of this invention are applicable to many devices in which relative unconfined movement is desired, amusement devices are here set out as embodiments of the invention and to disclose related improvements pertaining to this particular embodiment.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a body wherein the fluid contained therein is discharged through a foraminous wall to establish a film of a fluid intermediate the wall and a supporting surface thereby hollow body having a chamber connected to a supply of fluid under pressure and having a forarninous wall with one side in communication with the chamber and the other side being held spaced from a supporting surface by the fluid film produced by the discharge of the fluid through the foraminous w-all.

As has been described, this invention contemplates the use of a fluid such as air or water \as a film substance which in effect forms a lubricant or friction-reducing material. The film in the case of air must have adequate strength for maintaining surfaces separate by sustaining the load carried by one of the surface. Air under pressure will provide a load-sustaining film when it is uniformly distributed over the load-supporting area. If the air under pressure is conducted through a foraminous or permeable wall, the air will 'be discharged uniformly in minute. jets over the entire area. The tortuous paths through which the air must travel provide a considerable pressure drop when the pressure at the discharge side of the Wall is low. The device is self-regulating in that as the permeable wall approaches the surface, thepressure between the two increases and the flow through the permeable wall decreases. As the flow is decreased additional pressure is available at the surface since the pressure drop through the permeable wall also decreases along with the decrease in flow.

A toy incorporating the relatively frictionless film is capable of unusual motions and its mobility is not dependent on wheels or other associated mechanism. ,The base or feet of the topmay include a permeable Wall or Walls dis- 1 posed to support the toy motion by developing the above mentioned fluid film. The source of fluid under pressure may be obtained from the inflated toy itself or from a separate accumulator. Ineither case the action of the toy is the same. a

Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide a toy of animal or human form which is .a pressure accumulator for a fluid and has a base section connected with the accumulator, the base section having a foraminous portion for uniformly discharging the fluid snoasoe over a considerable area, the discharged fluid forming a supporting film between the base and a supporting surface. Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of a toy which is capable of unusual mobility at a minimum of cost and with unusual ease of manufacture.

Other objects and advantages, more or less ancillary to the foregoing, and the manner in which all the various objects are realized will appear in the following description, which, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, sets forth the preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a sectional View of an inflatable toy embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of an inflatable toy;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of a toy;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of supporting elements for a toy;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed view of the toy figure shown in FIGURE 6; p p

, FIGURE 6 is a toy assembly;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of a skate or ski; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view of a seat-type slide.

This invention may be embodied in a toy type of device in which air, gas, or liquid is containedunder pressure in an accumulator. As will be apparent, for prolonged operation the device is dependent upon a continued supply of fluid under pressure in the accumulator. Thus, the accumulator may be connected to a supply of fluid under pressure or the accumulator may be resilient to maintain the presure. In the toy application the occumulator may be in the form of a balloon or of a figure such as a doll or animal. These devices are illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 5 inclusive. In FIGURE 1 an elementary form of a toy is shown having an inflatable balloon It) with a check valve 12 such as a lip valve carried in an aperture therein to facilitate the repeated inflation of the balloon 16. A base 14 is affixed to balloon and has a passage 16 formed therein which connects to the interior of the balloon 19 for conducting air therefrom. The base 14 may be equipped with a valve 18 as indicated in FIGURE 2 for selectively opening and closing the passage 16 to regulate the operation of the toy device. A platform 20 having a cavity 22 formed therein is mounted on the base 14 in such a manner that the cavity 22 is in communication with the passage 16. The platform 20 is tor-aminous to allow the passage of air therethrough in limited quantities throughout the entire area or a portion of the area of the platform. The platform has an inner surface which is in communication with the cavity 22 and an outer smooth base supporting surface. Sintered metal or other porous materials may be used to form the platform structure.

When the balloon 19 is inflated the air contained therein will be under pressure and will be discharged through the platform 20. If the device rests on a plane supporting surface, a fil-rn of air will be produced between the platform 20 and the above mentioned surface. This film of air is effective to support the device in such a manner that there will be negligible frictional restraint on movement of the toy relative to the surface. Accordingly, the toy will move in the direction of the slightest inclination downwardly of' a supporting surface or will be moved by a slight force such as would be produced by ordinary room air currents. The translational or rotational movement of the toy may be obtained by the provision of a permeable or other opening 24 in the side of the base which would establish a reaction force suflicient to propel the toy since the friction tending to hold the toy is negligible.

The sintered material such as sintered bronze, is an excellent example of a workable material from which the platform 2% may be formed. Sintered bronze provides relatively uniform porosity. Alternatively, a plurality of the ski slide 34. r Other amusement devices utilizing the principle of this holes may be drilled or formed in an otherwise soft material to provide the same effect. The term foraminous? has been selected, because it is a term which defines all types of porosity operable in this invent-ion including both orifice and permeable types of restriction to obtain the desired load zone compensation. The degree of porosity will vary widely according to the fluid, the weight and I ing conditions, the following relationships should be maini tained:

(1) P /P is from 1.25 to 5.0 where; P is the supply pressure, V (2) P is the average film pressure of the'load supporting film in the case of a porous surface or the load supporting film pressure at the orifice exit in the case of other means of zone compensation.

Many operating and designed variables such as orifice size and roughness, wall thickness, fluid viscosity, temperature, etc. must be properly considered so as to provide safe minimum load supporting film thickness-generally under 0.005 inch and normally about 0.001 inch.

The foraminous support surface may be porous or may contain other'forms of load zone compensation such as an orifice-pool configuration. It may also simply contain a series of very small orifices drilled, or punched, or otherwise formed. Examples of various types of foramin-ae may be found in the copending application for pat ent Serial Number 643,665, filed March 4, 1957 entitled Seal, now Patent No. 2,907,594. In all cases, however, the ratio P YP is greater than 1.25.

Expressed in another way, the load zone compensation should provide an average pressure drop of about /5 to /5 as fluid is passed from the source of supply to load supporting film when the device is in operation.

Thus, the average pressure in a load carrying film will be no more than and at least of the pressure of the supplied fluid in the chamber or cavity 22.

The toy device may take the form .of an animal as shown in FIGURE 3 wherein the balloon 10 is contained In this device two plat Within a rigid outer form 26. forms 20 are used to give adequate support to the toy as required by the shape and supportingstructure thereof. Accordingly, multiple permeable platforms may be used to provide stability and support if such are required Q by the particular design of the toy representation.

In FIGURE 4 a plurality of supporting legs 28 is shown, each leg being provided with one or more permeable bases 20. The fluid for passing through the bases 20 p is conducted through passages .16 from a source of supply (not shown).

In FIGURE 6 a toy having a supporting platform'is I shown in combination with a :slide which provides the t surface on which the supporting film is developed and guideways for regulating the path of travel of the airsupported toy. 'I he toy is represented as being a skier 32 and a slide support in the form of ski slide 34 where p in the antifriction film of air is developed by the accumu lated air in the body of the skier 32 which is discharged through the permeable platform against the surface of the f ski slide 34. In the absence of friction it is possible for" the skier 32 to attain sufiicient velocity to have the nec- I essary inertia required for a jump or a related operation. 7 The permeable sidewalls 30 of the base 20 produce a film base 20 and the guiding sidewalls of of fluid between the invention are shown in FIGURES 7 and 8. In each instance a' supporting device is used which is connected to a source of air or water under pressure. These devices will rtake the form of seats or skis to carry an individual on a slide or rink. A nonpermeable supporting element 36 is mounted on a permeable platform 20 with a cavity 22 therebetween. fluid under pressure is conducted from a pressurized source (not shown) through a conduit 38 which is connected to the cavity 22. The fluid under pressure passes through the permeable wall of the platform 20 and establishes the antifriction film between the platform and a supporting surface. With ordinary pressures the film has sufficient strength to support an individual Without making necessary the use of a cumbersome platform of undue size.

In FIGURE 8, a seat or tray type of slide device is shown in combination with a channel-shaped track or slide therefor. The permeable platform 20 is shaped to provide sidewalls 4i) which dischange fluid and provide an antifrictiou film for side support as well as vertical support. As a result the tray is floated continuously out of contact with the track or slide and may be moved by gravity when the slide has a small degree of slope or by a minimum of external force when the slide is level.

The device shown in FIGURE 8 will also function as a conveyor for cargo and large weights may be carried thereon with a small external force being required to produce the motion.

A device has thus been described which has a forami nous wall with a smooth outer surface and an inner surface in ccmunication with means for suplying fluid under pressure to provide a supporting and lubricating film 101E fiuid between the outer surface and a complemeutal surface on a slide support when the object is placed with such outer and complemental surface in face-t-face relationship.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order that the invention may be completely set fonth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining; and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of design may be resorted to without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

I claim:

A movable, selfsupporting article of manufacture com-- prising in combination a slide for defining a support surface and an object movable along said support surface on a pressurized film of fluid, said object including an internal, fluid pressure chamber, and a foramrinous wall having an outer, slide-confronting surface and an inner surface in fluid communication with said chamber, the forarnina of said ball being of a size sufiicient to maintain a rate of fluid flow through said wall such that the film pressure is from one-fifth to tour-fifths of the pressure in said chamber, wherein said object is a figure toy and said toy includes a distensible membrane defining said fluid pressure chamber, wherein said slide is channelshaped and wiheuein said Wall includes foramina arranged to discharge fluid against the side of said chanel for laterally centering said toy on said slide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 756,600 Dodge Apr. 5, 1904 986,766 Schroeder Mar. 14, 1911 1,247,654 Farnsworth Nov. 27, 1917 1,424,659 Linder Aug. 1, 1922 1,900,781 Wardley Mar. 7, 1933 2,511,979 Goddard June 20, 1950 2,683,635 Wilcox July 13, 1954 2,683,636 Wilcox July 13, 1954 2,780,826 Coons et al. Feb. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 574,536 Great Britain Jan. 9, 1946 

